The electricity requirement in vehicles is increasing due to the demands of enhanced performance, on-board controls and comforts (e.g., stability controls, telematics, navigation systems, electronic braking, etc.). Conventional internal combustion engines are inefficient in energy use. In some cases, the unused energy of the engine can be used to power the electrical loads in the vehicle.
In one example, thermoelectric devices are being incorporated into the exhaust system of the vehicle to convert waste-heat into usable energy. However, simply disposing the thermoelectric device in the exhaust stream of the vehicle may negatively impact engine efficiency and performance due to increase in exhaust back-pressure load and potentially places the thermoelectric device at risk due to high exhaust temperatures.